One last Halloween

One of the few advantages of being unemployed is the freedom I have with my time. When I was working full-time I was usually up and gone long before my kids were awaking and preparing for school. This morning I awoke to my youngest preparing for her last Halloween in high school.

This is likely the last true Halloween I will get to spend with my girls. My youngest (pictured here dressed as her Idol) will turn eighteen in just over a month and head off to college in the spring.

It was fun to help her prepare her costume in the early house in a quiet house. I think she looks mighty fine.

This weekend, I am planning a night in. I don't want to be the wet blanket parent intruding on their Halloween party with friends. But I am welcome here. My kids actually want me to hang out with them and their friends this weekend.

I know it won't last, this may be the last. So I make no plans.

I will dress in costume and probably man the door and candy distributions. I have also been placed on food duty. But I am excited to enjoy this time with my girls one last time.

Next year I will go out and party with friends. But this one last time, I will be one of the kids.

I cant wait!

The Halloween Cruise

Yesterday was a rainy Saturday here but warm for late October. The morning was slow and lazy as we snuggled in watching movies waiting for my older daughter to get off work.

Then we got busy carving the pumpkins for the porch.

A messy and terrific way to spend a rainy afternoon. 

The oven warmed the kitchen as we roasted the seeds.

We also found out that our lab loves pumpkin as he snagged a huge chunk carved from my own and ran out the dog door to inhale it. Strange dog. His favorite things- although we rarely feed him scraps, are cauliflower, raw or cooked, and now pumpkin.

Although it has been unusually warm this autumn, it has been great to get out and see the wonderful fall colors in almost perfect temperatures.

We managed to get the yard decorations out for Halloween which also has not happened for a while. 

But yesterday the rains set in and the land is wet. 

But the temps are still not too cool yet. 

At the beginning of October we got a great deal on some tickets to a Halloween cruise on the Provo river. 

We have been on their Christmas cruise at this particular site and it was great. Similar to a sleigh ride all visitors snuggle with a heavy blanket across their laps as the slow pontoons glide over the river under the overhanging trees. The branches hang low over the river their bright Christmas lights reflecting off the water. Animated characters along the riverbanks also glow with strings of tiny lights of red, green and white.

Great family Christmas memories are made there while singing carols along the otherwise silent river.

So- this year we decided to try the Halloween cruise. Spooks and headless figures hanging from the branches while spooky sounds and Monster mash rang from the speakers were what I was expecting. But we were a bit disappointed at the lack of decor.

 A few strings of Halloween part lights shaped as candy corn, pumpkins and skulls. Two 'pirates' telling horrible pirate themes jokes and a very silly sword fight with one of them ending up in the frigid drink. And a host/ boat captain who forgot his lines, was not very personable and couldn't manage the simple CD player which played a Halloween poem for the crowd. Not really well planned or captivating.

However, it was a great night. The weather was almost perfect considering the rainy afternoon preceding the evening. It was time spent with my kids. And floating along the river, although a mite bit boring, was still really relaxing and brought us into the beauty of nature once again. 

The moon was near full and the sky hauntingly dark. 

We stopped for some hot chocolate and snacks then headed for home. 

Happy haunting everyone, hope your October is frighteningly perfect.

Scarecrow festivities

Last thursday, my friend decided to take her kids to one of the local halloween festivals held here in our area. She and her four boys, and I and my older daughter and a male friend of hers Brandon.

It was a great evening, the weather could not have been more perfect. (well it could have been a little warmer when the sun went down but im not complaining.

Here are some photos of the evening:

Brandon is a bit shy but took a liking to this pumpkin princess- So we took a picture of the cute couple.

The first thing we decided to do was burn some of the calories we were sure to partake of later in the evening, by jumping on this cross between a gigantic pillow and a trampoline.

I'll tell ya, that was a workout- The thing was blown up pretty hard.. hard to get a good bounce, unless someone else jumps near- then you were soaring. But fun, and it helped to use up some of the boys energy I think. (I also think we might have been the only adults to go on it- Points for us!)

Then two of her boys got on some kind of go carts.

Once again- Good for using up energy!!

This picture turned out cute- the whole gang- except the photographer....me.

Getting ready to watch the pig races-

And yes, Brandon has on Chantels jacket... we dont ask.

Cute little Piggies...

And some Pygmy goats too!

Sent the boys off for more energy spending activities... didn't even slow them down- This silly slide sends you off to the right...or left.. it's all in how you look at it.

Jesse

Short hair Chant-

Brandon

Then we had some grub- really grubby grub- Case in point look how my $4.00 hamburger looks like the plastic fake food... it just might be- however- Im a carnivore so it tasted really good.

Chantel and Brandon shared this 10 ft long foot long chili dog...

Just before dark we took some group photos in an enormous rocking chair that conjures up memories of Lily tomlin as Edith Ann - "And that's the truth!'

I LOVE to feel small.

The boys- Left to Right, Cameron, Dillon, Alex, and Jesse.

Boy Alex you know how to stand out!

Blackmail material!

Silly in the barnyard animals.

Jesse, Cameron, Alex, Shar, and Dillon

(They all look so much alike! Sorry Shar if I mixed them up!)

Next, we entered the BEAST. A 100ft long inflatable monster you enter in his mouth and walk through his body hearing his heart beating, and feeling your way through his innards. It was quite dark and we had some screaming girls behind us that ruined some of the effect, at the end, literally, his end, you exit to the sounds and 'air' of his passing gas! Hilarious I thought.

The only picture I took at night was this view of the sunset.

We were lost in the maze- no really- we were lost, I think we were in there for about an hour.. They gave us clues but we are no sleuths aparently. But in our defense- it was dark enough we couldnt see our feet without light from our cell phones. This year the maze was cut to resemble our own American Idol, David Archuleta. And the piped music played all his hits. I'm ok with that.

After we found our way out of the maze- we kicked off our shoes again and jumped in a big vat of corn. It was hard to keep your footing which may be the reason these turned out blury- Well that and the millions of little ones under your feet...

Look at all that corn!!!! Horid thoughts of the poor soul who had to shuck all that corn came to mind!

Then I was buried in the corn, clean up to the neck...

My daughter insisted that when I sit up, I do it monster-like.

I took this to mean in frankenstein fashion... which I did.. As I sat up, I felt a stream, a RIVER of corn slide into my pants, right down my backside... The rest of the night as we walked around I felt corn falling down my pant-leg.

Cameron and Dillon also got buried. We finished off the night with a hay-ride. Which was nothing more than that.. a ride in a wagon, sitting on hay- kind of boring compared with last year.
Shar's Ex, showed up to grab her kidlets and then we headed home. The kids were out but I still had to work the next day. when I got home, I was still 'leaking corn' from everywhere my clothes had an outlet... the hood of the sweatshirt I wore held at least a cup. my bedroom floor was covered with kernels, I didnt feel much like vacuuming up until the next day.

A little TMI: Next morning I woke up, felt something awkward--- reached between my nether cheeks, found two kernels of dried up corn, where NO corn should ever be!